David Duchovny's female tennis coach has sparked rumors her friendship with the actor was the cause for his split from wife Tea Leoni.

News of Duchovny and Leoni's split hit the headlines on Wednesday just days after the X-Files star checked out of an Arizona rehab center, where he had been seeking help for sex addiction. Leoni's co-star on upcoming film Manure, Billy Bob Thornton, was recently forced to dismiss talk of a romance between the two when the actress described him as "maybe my new favorite person in the world".

But now 48-year-old Duchovny's blonde coach Edit Pakay, 28, has sent gossips into a spin - after she failed to deny that she was having an affair with the star. She tells Britain's The Mail on Sunday, "We have a very, very close friendship. I don't want to be the third person in the marriage but I know it can be seen that way."

"David and I are very close friends and we still play tennis together. He's an excellent player. He likes physically strong, fit women... He is a wonderful man. He's a very intelligent, very kind and good man. I don't want to say anything that might hurt David. I am not going to deny it (the affair claims). I don't know what our relationship means to him."

She adds, "I wasn't instantly attracted to him. What is great about David is his intelligence and kindness. He is the sort of person you get to like more the more you know him."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)